In 2019, the value of the UK’s ornamental horticulture trade, which includes cut flowers, was put at £76 million.
One plant nursery, the Yorkshire-based Johnsons of Whixley, has claimed it fears losing as much as £500,000 a year due to the soil ban in particular hitting sales to Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland trade barriers have come up since the country has remained part of the bloc’s plant health system, the BBC reports, even though it is part of the UK.
Boris Johnson at a tree nursery in 2019 (Image: Neil Hall / WPA Pool / Getty)
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told Express.co.uk this is because, under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the island of Ireland is treated as “a single epidemiological unit”.
Potatoes and tractors banned from Northern Ireland if they have British soil on them, says Arlene Foster
The Leader of the DUP tells Chopper s Politics podcast why the post-Brexit regulation is offensive
3 February 2021 • 6:00am
UK customs officials are banning potatoes and tractors from Northern Ireland if they have soil from Great Britain on them, Arlene Foster has said ahead of a key meeting with Boris Johnson today.
Ms Foster, the Northern Ireland First Minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, blamed British customs officials for over-interpreting rules in the Northern Ireland Protocol which governs flows of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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HELPING HAND: Alan Lowry’s Environmental Street Furniture company has signed up for the Trader Support Service.
Free services can help your firm bring in goods from GB Posted: 10:40 am January 28, 2021
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New rules now apply to firms involved in moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Companies are being encouraged to familiarise themselves with these new actions and the free services that can help them manage the changes.
Firms that are required to trade under the Northern Ireland Protocol should access the free resources available to help them prepare – including by signing up to the Trader Support Service (TSS). One firm that recognised the need for support was Environmental Street Furniture, based in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. Its managing director, Alan Lowry was one of the first to sign up for the TSS scheme. “We have been actively involved with the TSS from its inception,” says Alan.
Gardeners snagged by farcical new Irish Sea border rule as British soil is banned from Northern Ireland because of Brexit – and harmful peat is promoted newsletter.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsletter.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.